Classics at the Merc

If ever there was a family that turned a whole bushel of lemons into lemonade, it’s the Bunnells of Chula Vista, five siblings who will perform as a string quintet for today’s Classics at the Merc.

The five Bunnell children lost their father, a career Navy man, to skin cancer in 2007. In 2010, their mother died of colon cancer.

But a combination of parental foresight and a strong faith carried them through the hard times and even gave them a future that would not only assure they were not separated for even a day, but would have a career as musicians.

Her father was not a musician, recalls Kimberley Bunnell, but their mother played violin in church and would haul her progeny to lessons, sometimes over their objections.

“Sometimes I would cry when Mom took us to lessons,” said Kimberley. “She would tell me that I could do two things at once. I could cry and play the violin at the same time.”

But the Bunnells gave their children more than music lessons. Their mother left a will that created a foundation for their financial stability. At the time of their mother’s death, the oldest, Keren, was old enough to take legal custody of her four younger siblings, and that is what her mother put into her will — that and the foundation, operated by a lawyer and financial adviser.

So, as difficult as those times were, said Keren, through her mother’s planning and the help of a grandmother and an aunt, they made the transition to a family of siblings.

“The five of us were our main support,” said Keren. “We got ourselves through it.”

There was never any question of breaking up the family. “(My mother) told me very clearly she did not want that,” said Keren.

Not only have the Bunnells stayed together, they are today the Bunnell Strings, thanks to their mother’s urging and a church program from which they got their first instruments and early lessons.

The youth music program included child-size violin loans, with larger instruments available as the youngsters grew.

“The teacher bought them cheap,” said Keren. “She went to yard sales and encouraged donations.”

She also provided individual and group lessons, which were paid off with three church concerts a year on their church-provided instruments.

The Bunnell Strings did not arise from their mother’s death, though, said Corrie.

“We always played together. We had already formed,” she said.

Although all of the youngsters started on violin, Kimberley changed to cello and Keren converted to viola. Ross and Cara still play violin, as does Corrie.

Their music teacher got them started in performance, said Keren, passing along requests for string musicians to play at weddings and other such functions.

“It just grows,” said Corrie, who has since also taken on a job as a store manager.

All of the Bunnells attend San Diego State University, where 24-year-old Keren is an accounting major and viola student. Her role in the day-to-day operation of the family is to keep the finances straight.